Christmas Rent Arrears

Posted : 12/11/2015 | By Alice Mahalia

The cost of Christmas is increasing every year, and according to Shelter around 3 million home owners and tenants will have problems paying their rent and mortgage following their pre-Christmas spending sprees.

The total amount of late or unpaid rent in England and Wales after Christmas 2012 was £326 million; up from £241 million in November of the same year. This was despite a nationwide reduction in rental charged.

Over the month of December, spending rises on not only Christmas presents; but also Christmas parties and a large number of supermarket offers drawing in consumers - Including the recent ‘Black Friday’ sales which persuade shoppers to spend more on non-essential items rather than putting money aside for their rent.

How to prevent Christmas arrears
As a tenant, it is important to remember than rent needs to be paid regardless of any extra spending that you may have over the Christmas period. It is easy to get carried away in pre-Christmas spending and forget about rent; especially if your rental payment date is toward the end of the month. It is therefore advisable to put money aside in the months leading up to Christmas in anticipation of this extra spending to spread out these expenditures. You should also not be afraid to speak out if you do find yourself in financial difficulty; but to avoid using ‘pay-day loans’ with high interest rates which will causes longer-term problems.

What to do if you are in arrears
26% of those people struggling with their rent or mortgage payments are too ashamed to ask for help; however it is important that you do so at the earliest possible opportunity. If you are struggling financially, you should make housing costs a priority and deal with other debts separately. If you have a large amount of other debts you should contact the Citizens Advice Bureau who may be able to assist you in contacting your debtors - Ensuring that your rent is paid on time and you do not place yourself at risk of homelessness.

How can a Landlord deal with rent arrears
First off, in genuine cases of hardship most responsible landlords will and should help their tenants with short term measures, such as Housing Benefit claims and deferring demands or re-scheduling payments for a period. As outgoings are higher during the Christmas period, it may be that the tenants will have more disposable income in the coming months to rectify any short fallings. If the situation does not resolve itself after the Christmas period, then the landlord may have no choice but to apply for to the courts for a Possession Order in the normal way.



Sources
www.shelter.co.uk
www.mirror.co.uk
www.nihe.gov.uk
www.bbc.co.uk
www.landlordzone.co.uk